


Ashaemon's Inquisition

by QuizzyComm (Inquisitor_Commander)



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 07:59:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7968688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inquisitor_Commander/pseuds/QuizzyComm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The entire story of Ashaemon Lavellan from the beginning of the game sequence. It will describe in some detail what Ash really thinks of this whole shit ton of stuff and how him and Dorian eventually come together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Breach

Ashaemon awoke in chains, wrists bound tightly the metal scraping against his fragile skin. He cracked open his dark brown eyes and felt a groan form deep in his throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed realizing the shitty situation he was in.  
Feeling all of the bones in his neck pop as he rose his head to look around the room. He wasn’t alone, swords were pointed at his angular face, one only centimeters away from the vallaslin markings on his face, intricate lines that curved from his forehead into three separate paths on both sides down to his jawline.  
He made no attempt to speak to the guards, some quivering in their boots literally. He looked down to his left hand, a sharp pain starting there. As his eyes met with his open palm a green light illuminated from it and a searing pain began through his whole arm. Ashaemon cried out for a moment, his voice gravelly from disuse.  
In the next second the door directly in front of him slammed open and two women walked in. One with short spiked raven hair with a braid crown around her whole head, the other a hooded rouge with fiery red locks, curving into her eyes. The first woman walked with an intimidating air about herself, her right hand on her sword’s hilt and her eyes narrowing at the sight of him.  
She began to pace circles around him slowly, he boots crunching on the stone floor that Ash was knelt on. He kept his eyes on her legs and took a deep breath.  
She bent down to his left shoulder and spat in his pointed ear, “Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you now.” Ashaemon jerked a little away from her hot breath before turning to look at her as she continued to walk around him.  
“The conclave is destroyed, everyone who attended is dead.” She turned and faced him, her heels clicking together. Her eyes narrowed, “Except for you.” She spat.  
Ashaemon froze. Everyone is dead. There had to have been hundreds of Templar and Mage leaders at the Chantry’s conclave for peace. Some of them were halfway decent to the elves who attended with Ash, he walked alongside a few mages to the Temple of Sacred Ashes. His heart raced, this woman was accusing him of killing them. He could tell in her voice, one little elf that every shemlen thought could never do anything, she thought he had killed every person in that temple.  
What an idiot.  
He met her harsh stare with complete silence, he furrowed his brow and kept his racial thoughts to himself. Neither women were happy with this answer either, even the more graceful one in the corner gave a hard stare. The intimidating woman leaned down and gripped his left hand with the glowing mark and threw it in his face.  
“Explain this.” Her accent was hard to understand at times, it was obviously from deep in Nevarra, but most likely more East to the Free Marches where his clan resides. She threw his hand back down into his lap and waited for her answer, her hand still on the hilt of her sword.  
“I-I can’t.” Ashaemon answered, his voice low and smooth.  
“What do you mean you can’t.” She spat pacing around him again, the other woman following her now.  
“I don’t know what that is, or how it got there!” He explained, genuine confusion in his voice.  
Before he could process it, the woman was in his face grabbing his shoulder forcefully and yelling, “You’re lying!”.  
The other woman rushed over and pushed her off gently, backing her away from Ashaemon.  
“We need him Cassandra!” The red head told her, and the harsher woman, named Cassandra relented.  
Ashaemon was riled but the force from Cassandra. “Whatever you think I did I’m innocent!” He yelled, wishing he wasn’t chained down. When he was angry there was nothing he hated more than staying still. He needed to do something, to fidget or pace.  
“Do you remember what happened? How all of this began?” The woman in the hood asked, he realized it was a shade of violet. It was hard to see in the small amount of torchlight in the dungeon. Cassandra glared at him over her chainmail shoulder.  
Ash racked his brain. Memories weren’t ever hard for him but it felt like there was an impenetrable fog over his brain he could barely remember anything that was said in the conclave itself. Let alone faces or how he came to have a mark on his hand.  
“I remember running…” A flash of gravel beneath his feet came into his mind, he could remember panting and yelling for help. “Things were chasing me.” What things he had no clue, it was still too foggy. “Then, a woman?” More green light came into view, a hand, he remember reaching out for a hand.  
“A woman?” The rogue asked.  
“She reached out to me, but then…” He became frustrated, not being able to remember this. He was reknowned in his clan as the ‘memory keeper’ he always remembered everything.  
“Go to the forward camp, Leliana.” Cassandra stopped pacing around in circles around him again and pointed to the door leading out. “I will take him to the rift.”  
The pair walked out of the dungeons below the Chantry and Cassandra threw open the large doors. They creaked eerily before the brightness blinded Ashaemon and he raised his cuffed arms to shield his eyes.  
He heard the crunching of snow beneath feet and after a few moments of his eyes adjusting, he looked up to Cassandra. Her head was pointed upward at the clouded sky and Ash followed her gaze.  
It was then that his eyes met with the sole thing that he knew everyone was yelling about around him.  
“We call it The Breach.”


	2. Demons?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashaemon has to try and wrap his whole head around his situation, and why is it that this Cassandra woman is so damned persistent on hating him? And what in the actual frick were these weird clawed demon looking things?

Ashaemon took a moment to take in his surroundings, Cassandra droned on about the Breach and he started listening again when she spoke of the explosion that happened at the Temple.  
“An explosion can do that?” He asked her.  
Cassandra raised a brow at him before answering, “This one did. Unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world.”  
Ash stared up again at the rift. He thought of all the clan and how he could lose them to this….this thing. The Breach’s green color matched perfectly with the mark on his hand that was radiating electricity through his arm and into his body. He raised his hand up some and stared at the palm and in that split second the Breach pounded in the sky; it glowed even brighter and a trail of green rocketed up into it and it expanded.  
Ash felt an excruciated pain in his hand and then through his whole being, and he fell to the ground gasping in pain. He leaned forward and tucked his arm underneath him seething.  
“Every time the Breach expands,” Cassandra said now kneeling on the ground with him. “your mark grows, and it is killing you.” She explained.  
Ashaemon looked up at her and panted heavily.  
“It may be the key to stopping this…but there isn’t much time.” She leaned forward to look at him intensely and Ash huffed.  
“You say it may be the key, to doing what exactly?” He asked through pained breaths.  
“To closing the Breach, if that is possible it is something we will discover shortly.” She answered assuredly.  
Ash looked back down and shook his head. The tone of voice she carried was still unsure and suspecting. Her brows were furrowed together in confusion and Ash realized he wasn’t the only one that had to deal with all of this. Everyone did.  
“I understand.” Ash said sighing. He kept his eyes on her and her face filled with shock.  
“Then?” Cassandra stared on her mouth agape.  
“I’ll do what I can, whatever it takes.” Ash nodded and gave a small smile.  
The mean woman looked more pleased with him now and stood up. She yanked Ash up by his under arm and he struggled to get balance quickly enough before he fell again. This woman meant business that much was obvious.  
Cassandra pushed him onward and Ash shuffled his feet. His hands were hurting under the extremely well tied ropes. His shoulders ached from the hunch he must have been in for hours and that also reminded him.  
Where was his father’s bow? The one he had made just for this trip; the bow was gone.  
Right as he was opening his mouth to speak, Cassandra did.  
“They have decided your guilt, they need it.” She stated and Ash raised a brow.  
Oh, she meant all these mad looking shemlen that were all staring at him as they walked through the snow covered village. Many of them were even spitting at the ground where he walked and Ash did not think that was sanitary.  
He noticed some people were crying onto others shoulders, some were praying on their knees to their gods and what broke his heart the most was the small children standing over covered bodies.  
“The people of Haven mourn out Most Holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry.” Cassandra’s voice became soft and broken. Hints of sadness tugged at her eyes.  
“This Conclave was hers.”  
Ash remembered that the Keeper told him of this woman, the Divine. The shemlen believed in the Maker and Andraste, he recalled, and they elect some woman in a large hat to run all of their worshipping places. He didn’t pay attention a lot when the Keeper taught him and the other spies about it, although now considering he was the only one left out of all of them most likely, he wished he had.  
Cassandra explained as they rounded a small hill how this was their only chance for peace between the Mage Rebellion and the Templars. At some point the woman had let go of Ashaemon and he was able to roll his shoulders as he listened to the heavy accented woman.  
She went on to tell him how this Divine brought the leaders of each side together to have a talks. Ash knew she had because it was the whole reason he was sent here. Some Templars had sent upon his younger sister, Aisling, the Keeper’s first when she had wandered off to gather herbs. It had set him off just a tad and he even volunteered to go spy on this whole ordeal.  
He was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time.  
Cassandra and Ash reached a set of large double doors and two well-armed guards opened them as they approached. It revealed a large bridge that crossed over to a valley that twisted up and into the mountains.  
Creators, did it ever stop snowing around here?  
“We lash out like the sky, but we must think beyond ourselves. As she did; until the Breach is sealed.” Cassandra raised a hand to stop him after they had passed through the doors and Ash looked up at her confused.  
She stepped in front of him and pulled dagger from her side sheathe. He backed away a little and she reached out for his tied hands.  
“There will be a trial. I can promise no more.” She sawed at his bindings and they snapped off.  
Ash twisted his hands around and rubbed his wrists. They were burned a little from the rope but overall it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.  
“Come, it is not far.” Cassandra ordered and backed away from him.  
What? Wait, what?  
“Where are you taking me?” Ash spurted out furrowing his dark black brows.  
“Your mark must be tested on something smaller than the Breach.” Cassandra waved him forward and began to walk ahead of him.  
It became a game of follow the leader as they began to climb the path up towards this forward camp she had spoken of earlier.  
Ash reached up and felt snow flurries in his hair. As they moved he dusted them out and cursed the bitter cold. He never liked it even though his clan had always lived up northward. His father always said it was hard for Ashaemon to survive in snow because he was one of the few in his clan born with thick black hair; it always gave him away during a hunt in the dead of winter.  
Suddenly, a flash of hot white pain burst through Ash’s hand and into his arm. He cried out and fell into a snow bank next to the path and gripped at his hand. The Breach pulsated above them in the sky and Cassandra bent down to help him back up again.  
She patted his shoulders in reassurance, “The pulses are coming faster now.” She said and Ash nodded, trying to catch his breath.  
She led onward at a much faster pace this time. Ash struggled to keep up as he tried to wrap his head around this mark on his hand. It looked like someone had cut him with a blade right down the middle of his palm. It extended down the side of his hand and then just..stopped.  
“The larger the Breach grows, the more rifts appear, the more demons we face.” Cassandra had stopped to explain to him more about what was happening.  
“How did I survive the blast?” Ash asked her and Cassandra looked unsure.  
She ran a hand through her very short black hair before she spoke, “They said you…stepped out of a rift, then fell unconscious. They also say a woman was in the rift behind you, no one knows who she was.”  
Ash stared at her his eyes wide. She shrugged and looked very sad and despondent. He could tell she had her own beliefs but was not yet ready to share them with him. He didn’t know what to believe himself, he couldn’t remember anything that had happened.  
What if he was responsible for all this death? All these people…they could be gone because of him. Children’s parents and brothers and sisters…just gone.  
He didn’t have long to think about it anymore because as they crossed another bridge, some sort of formation dropped from the Breach and caused the stone structure to explode and Cassandra fell down to the ground below and he followed shortly after.  
When they both regained their composure a pair of ugly looking things with long pointed fingers screeched at them. Ash was alarmed and meanwhile this mean woman just got up, drew her sword and shield and just charged at the damn things.  
Okay, he really should have listened to those studies Aisling was doing on those weird ass fade dreams she was having. This didn’t even look real.  
But you know what was real and sitting just behind him? A bow and a quiver of arrows, thank the Creators. He rushed for it and slipped the well beaten quiver onto his back and began to fire arrows from the bow.  
One of the demons made for him and he cursed. It swiped one of those scary long fingered hands at him and scratched at his face. He backed away and went around the crates behind him and it seemed to lose interest.  
They weren’t exactly smart were they?  
Cassandra slashed and bashed at the things and in a few more seconds they were done. Ash ran up to her out of breath, glancing around the area looking for more.  
“It’s over.” He said to her and she threw her sword in his face.  
What in the world had he done now? He thought and Cassandra scowled.  
“Drop your weapon, Now.” She ordered and Ashaemon froze.


	3. Ooooooh! A Crossbow!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashaemon finds the bald elven mage, Solas and the unbearded dwarf Varric on his way to the forward camp with Cassandra. Because of them he learns he can close rifts that open because of the breach and he is informed that he holds the key to the world's salvatation. Oh..and he sees a really really nice crossbow.

Ash contemplated what he could say at this very moment. He could be an incredible ass and just refuse to listen to her, or he could live and agree.   
He chose life.   
“Alright then, have it your way.” He said and started to hand her the bow.   
“Wait,” Cassandra’s face softened and she sheathed her sword. Ash once again was very surprised, he was somehow figuring out this Cassandra person. Fantastic. “I should remember you agreed to come willingly.” She reminded herself and Ash smiled at her.   
She pulled a few small vials from her pouch and handed them to him. They were filled with a strange weird colored liquid and Cassandra gave a small laugh.   
“They are poultices, Maker knows what we will face. They will help with any pain from your injury.” She nodded to his scratch across his face.   
“Oh this?” Ash scoffed. “Seen worse from an angry infant.” He teased and Cassandra turned on her heels.   
“Let’s move on then.” She started forward again and Ash popped the top off of one of the vials and chugged it down.   
He coughed and rasped then threw the glass off to the side. “They’re disgusting!” He complained and he could have sworn he heard the woman snicker.   
“They are medicine, they are not meant to taste good.” Ash shrugged in agreement, it was a fair point.   
“Where are all your soldiers?” He asked her as they walked forward past a dead Templar. He stepped around the man and said a silent prayer for his safe travel to the next world.   
“At the forward camp, or fighting. We are on our own I’m afraid.” She told him and Ash nodded.   
When they reached the top of one of the many hills two more of those demon claw things were sliding around on the ice below them. Cassandra drew her sword and shield as she locked onto them.   
“More demons! If we flank them we may take the advantage!” She ran down the hill and charged at one of them and Ash fumbled for his bow as one started after him up the hill.   
“Shit!” He cursed and began rapidly firing the arrows. As he did he thought of the forest instead of this frozen land.   
He thought of the trees surrounding him and not a Breach. His fellow hunters chasing after him in play and not a demon. His little sister ordering him around…and not Cassandra.   
Creators, where was his sister during all this? Was she scared? No, she was grown up…mostly. She also had their parents and the Keeper, she was safe.   
Ash drew back hard on his current arrow and when he released it the demon was hit right in the eye and fell. It sunk back into the ground and Ash shivered. He wasn’t ever going to get used to those things.   
“Come on! We must reach the camp!” Cassandra called out and Ash ran down the hill and put his bow over his shoulder.   
They ran into many more demons and even were able to pick up some coins along the way. Call him what you wanted but coin is coin, you needed it to survive. Cassandra didn’t seem to think ill of him when he would collect it, she would take the opportunity to look ahead and check the path forward.   
When they reached a snow covered flight of stone stairs two large green blasts flew from the sky and knocked Ash backwards. Demons emerged from the ground and noticed them immediately. It was the largest amount they faced since they started their journey and Ash worked hard alongside Cassandra to defeat the monsters.   
When it was over she started urging him to follow her up the stairs. “We are getting close to the rift! You can hear the fighting!” She yelled over the loud winds and clashes of swords.   
“Who’s fighting?” Ash asked her as he trotted up the stairs towards the sounds.   
“You’ll see soon! We must help them.” Was all she said before Ash hit the top.   
In a small pit surrounded by fire was a mage, a dwarf and a few soldiers. The mage was clearly elven but he bore no vallaslin. The dwarf was red headed and not even bearded, that wasn’t what he was taught dwarves were like. It was just a day of surprises for him, wasn’t it?   
Nevertheless, Ash attacked the demons and when he went to fire his arrow he noticed that the mark on his hand was glowing. There was no pain from it, but there was a slight tingling feeling that grew stronger as he got closer to the rift.   
Once all the demons were defeated the elven mage called out to him. “Qucikly!” He grabbed Ash’s marked hand and studied it for a moment. “Seal it before more come through!” The mage flailed his palm at the green rift in the air and Ash froze in place as his mark reacted with the thing.   
It made a long two stringed line and buzzed and tingled as it made the reaction. Then suddenly the rift closed with a huge flash and Ash was momentarily blinded.   
When he regained his vision the mage let go of his hand and smiled at him warmly. Damn, was he bald.   
“What did you do?” Ashaemon asked him looking down at his now normal palm.   
“I did nothing,” The accent in this elf was like none that Ash had ever heard. “The credit is yours.” The mage said to him with a small nod and smile   
“You mean this.” Ash responded and the man nodded.   
“Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky, it also placed that mark upon your hand.” He explained.   
Ash looked down at his mark that had begun to glow again and he twisted his hand around to study it. What did this mean anyhow?   
“I also theorized that the mark could close rifts that opened in the Breach’s wake---it seems I was correct.” He smiled proudly at that.   
Show off.   
“Meaning it also could close the Breach itself.” Cassandra piped in and approached the two.   
“Possibly.” The baldy answered. “It seems you hold the key to our salvation.” He clasped his hands together and gave a slight bow.   
For the millionth time today, Ash’s eyes almost popped out of his head as he stared at the man. That was a lot to swallow, wasn’t it?   
“Good to know,” A sarcastic sounding voice came from the groups left. “And here I thought we’d be ass deep in demon’s forever.” It was coming from the red-headed, no bearded dwarf Ash saw earlier.   
He was a rogue like himself and also an archer. But instead of a bow resting on his back he had a crossbow. Fascinating.   
The dwarf approached the party and gave a bright smile. “Varric Tethras, rogue, story-teller and occasionally unwelcome tag along.” He turned and winked at Cassandra and she made a disgusted noise at him and walked off.   
“Are you with the Chantry..or?” Ash asked and the mage chuckled behind him.   
“Was that a serious question?” He asked and Varric clicked his tongue.   
“Awww, I’m sure we’ll become great friends in the valley Chuckles.” Varric fidgeted with his glove and joked with the mage.   
Ash was yet again distracted by Varric’s crossbow. “That’s…a nice crossbow you have there.” Ash said aloud and Varric gleamed with pride.   
“Ah, isn’t she? Bianca and I have been through a lot together.” He turned to look at the crossbow and smiled at it like a lovesick puppy.   
“You named your crossbow Bianca?” Ash asked him a smile on his face.   
“Of course! And she’ll be great company in the valley.” Varric motioned to the ever extending valley ahead of them and Cassandra pushed past Ashaemon.   
“Absolutely not! Your help is appreciated Varric but---“ She stammered.   
“Have you been in the valley lately Seeker? Your soldiers aren’t in control anymore, you need me.” Varric looked up at her and batted his eyes.   
Cassandra did not looked pleased but she didn’t argue with him. She just made another disgusted noise and turned away again.   
Ash looked between them and smiled. “Do we have a history here?” Ash commented and Varric shook his head, smiling.   
“My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions.” The bald elf came over to Ash’s side and introduced himself. “I am pleased to see you still live.”   
Varric chuckled. “He means, “I kept that mark from killing you while you slept.”.” Varric told him and Solas nodded.   
“You seem to know a great deal about it all.” Ash remarked and Solas smiled. “I owe you my thanks it seems.” He said and gave polite nod.   
“Thank me if we manage to close the Breach without killing you in the process.” Solas told him and Ash’s heart stopped momentarily.   
Oh great, he was going to die now? Everyone seemed to gloss over that part.   
“Cassandra, you should know: the magic involved here is like any I have ever seen. Your prisoner is no mage, indeed I find it hard to believe any mage having such power.” Solas turned to face the Seeker and she nodded.   
“Understood.” She began to walk forward. “We must get to the forward camp, quickly.”   
Damn was she good at bossing people around.   
Solas followed after her and Ash hung back for a moment. Varric walked up beside him to follow and smiled up at Ash.   
“Well….Bianca’s excited!”


End file.
